Located 120 kilometers southwest of Monterey, California, Davidson Seamount is 40 kilometers long and rises 2,300 meters from the ocean floor, yet its summit is still roughly 1,300 meters below the sea surface. This large geographic feature was the first to be characterized as a “seamount” and was named after Coast and Geodetic Survey (forerunner to the National Ocean Service of
NOAA) scientist George Davidson.
Davidson Seamount is structurally similar to Guide Seamount, located to the north, although Davidson is much larger. Subparallel volcanic ridges are aligned parallel to magnetic anomalies in the underlying ocean crust. Davidson is flanked on both sides by the same magnetic anomaly, indicating that it formed astride an inactive mid-ocean ridge. The volcano consists mainly of alkalic basalt,
hawaiite, and mugearite lavas, with some pyroclastic deposits occurring near the summit.

The seamount is about 14 million years old and formed about 8 million years after the underlying mid-ocean ridge became inactive. In addition to its unique shape and geology, Davidson Seamount has remarkable biological communities. The waters above its surface are very productive feeding grounds for a wide variety of fishes, marine mammals, and seabirds, including albatross and sperm whales.

MBARI provides these data "as is", with no warranty, express or implied, of the data quality or consistency. Data are provided without support and without obligation on the part of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute to assist in its use, correction, modification, or enhancement.